Buddha Trixie is a Southern California rock band with a sound that is at once raw and powerful but also measured and melodic. Their debut EP, Real, was released last summer and features four original tracks that forecast great promise for this emerging band.

The group formed as a trio by guitarist Andrew Harris, bassist Dennis Moon and drummer Daniel Cole, who plays while standing and also providing the lead vocals for the group. Influenced by classic rock acts such as Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, the three trace their collaborative roots to grade school jams nearly a decade ago. Through high school, they continued to refine their musical chemistry and began writing and recording original songs for independent release. In 2014, Kenzo Mann was added as keyboardist and second guitarist and the quartet prepared for their first release.

Produced by Andrew’s brother Mitchell Harris, the Real EP was recorded in the Harris’ home studio with all the group members taking much time to refine every tone, texture and take in order to create a distinguishable sound. The songwriting was done collaboratively through jamming in the studio and further working on the better material that emerged from these sessions.

The EP kicks off with “Be There”, featuring popping, funky bass and guitar in the verses which give way to a steadier pop chorus section that features some rich backing harmonies. Like much of the lyrics on the EP, they are simple and straight-forward here, with the theme being; “I would do anything for you”. The title track “Real” commences with a duo-tracked lead guitar played methodically during the intro and interludes between verses over Cole’s interesting double-beat drum pattern. The lyrics focus on challenging the mundane standards that the world has set out for you and the later musical section is an especially good sequence with Harris and Mann providing a methodical alternation of synth and guitar as a set up for the former’s soaring lead guitar to close out the song. A video for the song featuring scores of morphing graphics was created by Philip Stilwell.

The EP only gets stronger as it goes through the later tracks. “Worship Me” has good, raw, quasi-grunge sound along with an accompanying lyrical and title sentiment. Perhaps the hardest rocking song on the album, it crashes to a quiet break in the middle, upon a suggestion by producer Mitchel Harris. From here, it builds back up into a something even stronger and more intense the during the climatic end. The final track is the slow-developing “99 Cent Tacos”, which starts with four picked guitar chords and emo vocal lines. But when it kicks in to the chorus, this track is nothing short of excellent with all four members hitting on all cylinders, especially Cole’s strained vocals which fantastically deliver a highly relatable message of frustration. Closing the song out is much sonic candy, lead by the guitar textures and harmonized guitar to conclude the EP.

The four members of Buddha Trixie are currently dispersed among several colleges but they do plan on putting out a full-length album sometime in the future, as well as touring as time allows. The Real EP has received much acclaim and helped the group build a following, which they plan to soon bring to the next level.